''A Horseman Riding By'' is a sequence of 3 novels by

R. F. Delderfield Ronald Frederick Delderfield (12 February 1912 – 24 June 1972) was an English novelist and dramatist, some of whose works have been adapted for television and film. Biography Childhood in London and Surrey Ronald Frederick Delderfield ...

written between 1966 and 1968. It starts in 1902 at the tail end of the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

and is continued in the sequels to end in 1965. The first book is set in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

in the early 20th century. It was to some extent an elegy for the traditional society which was blown apart by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After a three-part radio adaptation broadcast on the

BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...

and

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

in 1967, starring William Lucas,

Josephine Tewson Josephine Ann Tewson (26 February 1931 – 18 August 2022) was an English actress, best known for her roles in British television sitcoms, such as Edna Hawkins ("Mrs H") in '' Shelley'', Elizabeth "Liz" Warden in ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (19 ...

and Hilda Schroder, the first novel and the World War I portion of the second were dramatised as a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

13-part television serial, starring

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama ...

Prunella Ransome Prunella Jane Ransome (18 January 1943 – 4 March 2002) was an English actress, primarily active on television and films. Early life Ransome was born in Croydon, Surrey. She later lived in Fareham, England where her father, Jimmy Ransome, wa ...

and

Glyn Houston Glyn Houston (23 October 1925 – 30 June 2019) was a Welsh actor best known for his television work. He was the younger brother of film actor Donald Houston. Early life Glyndwr Desmond Houston was born at 10 Thomas Street, Tonypandy, Glamorgan ...

, broadcast on Sunday evenings from 24 September 1978. The series was never repeated on any BBC channel, but was released on DVD in 2004. The BBC did not adapt the remainder of the series of novels, but a few years later they adapted two more of Delderfield's novels, ''

To Serve Them All My Days : ''For the 1980 television adaptation, see To Serve Them All My Days (TV series).'' ''To Serve Them All My Days'' is a novel by British author R. F. Delderfield. First published in 1972, the book was adapted for television in 1980. It has b ...

'' and '' Diana''.

''Long Summer Day''

The first novel is ''Long Summer Day''. The novels are all set in south Devon, where the main character, Paul Craddock buys an estate after serving with the Imperial Yeomanry in the

. The first novel covers the years of the long "Edwardian afternoon" after the death of Queen Victoria, including the postponement of the coronation of

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

, the Liberal landslide of 1906 and the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. The story follows the trials and tribulations of Craddock, and later his second wife and their growing family.

''Post of Honour''

The second novel ''Post of Honour'' covers the years from 1914 through to May 1940 with the Dunkirk evacuation. However the first chapter catches up with the main characters and events from 1911 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The second novel finishes with the "Miracle of Dunkirk" with Craddock's eldest son Simon (his son from his brief first marriage) returning safely from France.

''The Green Gauntlet''

The third and final novel ''The Green Gauntlet'' is in two sections. Part one picks up the story of the Craddock family in February 1942 and runs through the rest of the Second World War to the culmination of the D Day landings. The story then takes us on to the end of the war just before V.E. Day. Part two gets underway with the V.E. Day celebrations in May 1945, then follows the Craddock family fortunes through the 1950s and up until the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965. Paul Craddock dies shortly afterwards.

''A Horseman Riding By - BBC TV Adaptation''

In 1978, a 13-part television adaptation was broadcast Sunday evenings on BBC1 at 7:15pm. It was produced by

Ken Riddington Ken Riddington (8 May 1922 – 26 December 2014)Simon Farquha ''The Independent'', 12 March 2015. Some sources give his year of births as 1920. was an English television producer, who worked predominantly in BBC television drama from the 1970s onwa ...

. Part of the filming was undertaken at Bowringsleigh, a Grade 1 listed Elizabethan house in West Alvington, Devon, England. Main cast:

, Madge Ryan, Pam St Clement, Glyn Owen, Alan Browning, William Moore,

Milton Johns John Robert Milton (born 13 March 1938), known professionally as Milton Johns, is an English character actor who has worked almost continuously throughout his career. A versatile talent, he specialises in sinister or obsequious roles and has f ...

Margaret John Margaret John (14 December 1926 – 2 February 2011) was a Welsh, BAFTA award-winning actress, known for her role as Doris O'Neill in ''Gavin & Stacey''. Early life Born in Swansea, as a child she wanted to be a nurse or vet, but she could ...

Steve Hodson Steve Hodson (born Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, 5 November 1947) is a British actor who played the role of Steve Ross in ''Follyfoot''. Hodson was working as a civil servant in Bradford when he won a place at the Central School of Speech ...

Olaf Pooley Oloe Krohn "Olaf" Pooley (13 March 1914 – 14 July 2015) was an English actor, screenwriter and painter. As an actor, he appeared as Professor Stahlman in the seven-part ''Doctor Who'' serial ''Inferno'' (1970). Early life Pooley was born to ...

, David Prowse,

Gillian McCutcheon Gillian McCutcheon (born April 1939) is a British-based actress who has appeared in many programmes over the years. She has played three parts in the ITV Soap opera ''The Bill'', alone. Her first role was '' The Avengers'', in 1961. She also ...

and Fiona Gaunt.

References

External links

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IMDB entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horseman Riding By English novels BBC television dramas Television shows set in Devon 1966 British novels Novels by R. F. Delderfield Novels set in Devon Hodder & Stoughton books Literary trilogies